Thirteen’s consciousness slowly returns from the black pit of overdose-induced coma, forcing a groan through her lips, which makes something like a hard loaf of bread pressing against her side shift a little. A loaf the warmth of which seeps into Thirteen’s barrel and through her whole body like a cup of warm cocoa on a winter evening.

It unrolls and reveals a black head with two bright teal eyes staring at Thirteen’s face with a growing smile.

“...Three…?” she lets out a whispered croak when, under the blurry head, she spots the faint pink glow of a familiar string of runes. Seeing the changeling up close, memories quickly flood her head, her previously recovering vision filling with tears of shame, “...I’m sorry...”

“What for? What happened?” Three sits up, gently putting his forelegs on Thirteen’s chest. When she hisses as the unpleasant pressure spikes through her barrel, he puts those back on the bed.

“I messed everything up,” her mental voice reaches Three with ease which makes Thirteen question herself.

She should have a real suppressor on again. They can’t have left her unlocked after she passed out.

“What do you mean?” Three’s hive link voice is weak but still significantly more audible than at any point since their imprisonment. He has his suppressor on, so it’s as if… as if…

“Is that suppressor on your horn one of the fake ones?” she asks instead.

“Nope. Everyone is still waiting for you with the plan. Good job by the way, but what happened afterwards? The doctor said you poisoned yourself. Why? Was that a lie? Should I tell miss Gem? Are they doing some illegal experiments on changelings?”

Thirteen’s head spins as she takes a deep breath and looks blankly at the ceiling.

Did she make it?

With a grunt, she raises her weak, noodle-limp foreleg and touches her horn. On the attempt number two, after poking herself in the eye.

It’s there. Her suppressor is on. Yet she can still mentally talk to Three with ease. It has to be the fake one.

Closing her eyes, she lets out a sigh of relief.

“Is there anyone around?”

“The doctor did his rounds twenty minutes ago. There’s just you, me, and a warden by the door.”

“This side of the door?”

“Yep.”

“Sorry...” she croaks out loud, “Everything hurt so much that when I saw the medicine cabinet… I just couldn’t control myself.”

“Keep up the real world chitchat, Three. I’ll explain.”

“Awww. You’re already getting better. They promised I could stay here overnight,” Three nuzzles Thirteen’s neck.

Through the hive link, though, he says:

“I’m done at the castle. We did it. Ponies are successfully building a farm every few days now by hoof but they’re working on a proper assembly line. It’s going to take weeks, but I think we’ve made sure Equestria avoids a famine,” the smile of Three’s hive link image drains away despite the great news, “Buuut the rest of the news is not so good.”

“Hit me.”

“What? No! Why would I do that?”

“I mean, what’s wrong now that the food situation is only going to get better?”

“Well, I thought about how Two reported that weird sky pulse that seemed to heat everything up. I finally saw it yesterday with my own eyes, and I’m sure it’s someone using magic to stop the world from freezing over. The problem is that they’re failing. You wouldn’t notice it in here even during outside time, but the guards I asked said it’s definitely gotten colder over the past weeks outside of the barrier surrounding the Crystal Empire.”

“I doubt we can help with that, or can we?”

“Well… I think we might, but mister Magpie keeps calling me a maroon whenever I bring it up, and even miss Gem said it was a dumb idea.”

Thirteen turns her head to face Three who got silent even in the pointless chatter they kept up to prevent the guard by the door from realizing they’re communicating telepathically. He’s looking down at the bedsheet, slowly taking steps with his forelegs on the spot. Seeing the normally happy drone this unsure of himself and hesitant is definitely a unique occurence, and not in a good way.

Faced with that and with what Thirteen did to herself who knows how long ago, she gives Three a weary smile and says:

“Dad told me to keep an eye on you, Three. Magpie scolded me that I talk instead of doing and he was right in a way. I’m going with you no matter what the plan is or who thinks how stu- wrong it might turn out.”

“Really?” the runes on Three’s body light up a little.

“I could promise or swear, but that would just prove Magpie’s point. When push comes to shove, I will act. What’s the plan?”

“Mind telling me how you ended up here while I prepare what I want to say so that it makes some sense? I tried to explain to miss Gem, but I just… I just couldn’t do it right. I want you to understand,” Three gives her a pleading look.

“Take your time, although my story will be short. I had no idea how to make the acid from miss Gem’s recipe with a suppressor still on. It required internal changes I just couldn’t make. I’m not even as powerful as you, Three. I really am on the level of a common drone, so I had to improvise. The only way was to take my suppressor off if I wanted to make the right kind of acid. I asked our minotaur friend to rip my belly plating off so that I could get to the infirmary. Before that, I had to take few days to grow something that could absorb any kind of painkiller I could find. When I got here, I broke into the medicine cabinet, ate what I could not to pass out while I took my suppressor off and switched it with the fake one. I thought I passed out before I could do it, that’s why I was apologizing, but… the amount I took must have damaged my memory or something. I can’t recall switching the suppressors at all.”

“Well, you must have done it, otherwise we wouldn’t be talking like this.”

“True, but if the fake one is on my horn, where-” she blinks as her foreleg twitches a little, making her feel pressure inside as if something small was hidden inside it, “It’s hidden in my leg. I’m sorry, I really can’t remember anything past collapsing on the floor.”

“But you did it, and that’s the important part. See? You are much stronger and smarter than you… and a lot of others give you credit for. And I’m not just saying it, I mean it. Well, even if I mean it, I’m only saying it… how do I do a meaning?” stuck in the philosophical conundrum, Three opts for a hug around her neck. Simple things are often the best.

“I get it, I get it, you really mean it,” Thirteen can’t help letting out a quiet sigh. Her barrel still hurts, but Three’s careful about it this time, and the warmth spreading from him like a blanket washes her worries away. After a short while, she asks, “So what’s the plan, Three?”

“After we escape from here, I want to find the big bad- Flow in Tartarus.”

“Huh, you did mention it before. But why? Why do you think the guy who caused the apocalypse would help undo it? I mean, even if he by some miracle was able to. From what I understand, the rest of the universe is gone. Breaking things is always easier than fixing them.”

“Well… we can start with the sun if nothing else, right? So that ponies and fluffy catbirds and zebras and even minotaurs don’t all freeze to death,” Three crosses his forelegs on his chest, “And this is what I’m trying to say and NO ONE is listening. Flow CAN’T BE a bad guy!” Three stops himself, “Wait, no, that’s not the right way to say it. He IS a bad guy for all the terrible stuff he did, but… look...” his voice fades.

“Take your time, Three,” Thirteen musters what little strength she’s got to pat his head.

“How much do you know about what happened after miss Gem arrived in our hive with mister Magpie, miss Prominence, and Harriet on the back of a big dragon?”

“I just know that dad suddenly gave the order for all changelings to clear out of the throne room and few hallways leading to the surface.”

“That’s where miss Gem led the dragon and her group through. What happened around the same time was that mister Cromach, this big white griffon, with one really friendly earthpony Corrupted arrived along with Cryo and brought an alicorn lady to the hive. She was a full wild Corrupted, all crazy, angry, and tentacly. Cryo lost all her hatchlings who went with her and Eleven lost several of his bodies as well in order to get that alicorn to us. The dragon miss Gem brought was supposed to be the alicorn lady’s friend and that his presence along with some medicine could cure her of her corruption.”

“We have an alicorn friend now? Neat!”

“Not exactly...” Three sighs, “The cure worked, but the alicorn lady was a Corrupted for too long, and wasn’t right in the head. She was really confused, kinda like what Cryo gets sometimes. She had no idea who she was, where she was, could barely move or talk, and the only creature she even barely recognized was the dragon. However, she must have understood something mister Cromach and the earthpony told her, because she obeyed whenever they told her to stay or follow them.”

“Okay, so we saved a brain-damaged alicorn they brought to us. How is she connected to this Flow creature that destroyed the universe?”

“From what I understand, she knew how to find Flow and that’s what mister Cromach and the earthpony wanted. I said it before when we were all talking down in the interrogation room after we got sent here - she was the one who teleported us into a pocket dimension that looked like a big city ruined by an earthquake where we met a unicorn called Mistake. He is the reason I think this is all wrong. If I didn’t have the suppressor on my horn I would show you the memory and then it might make better sense. There was no evil in him, only desperation and determination. I know others often think I’m stupid because I try to see the good in everyone first, but this was different. Mistake wasn’t a baddie and the way mister Cromach and the earthpony talked to him it seemed as if he was and wasn’t Flow at the same time. It all felt as if he didn’t want things to end up like this, but that he had no choice.”

“But you haven’t met the real Flow, right?”

“No,” Three shakes his head, “We haven’t, and that made mister Cromach cry. Mistake said Flow wanted to see mister Cromach more than anything but that he couldn’t. There was something else Flow had to do and no one could know why. Now we know it was destroying everything in the sky.”

“Honestly, that doesn’t bring me any closer understanding why we should seek someone like that out.”

“Hrmph!” Three frowns, “I still don’t know how to say it properly. To me it felt as if no one involved had any other choice. None of them wanted to meet like that, to turn the princesses and everyone against them, to cause a terrible massacre in Zebrica, but there just wasn’t any other way. No one around Flow that I’ve met felt like a baddie, and that’s why I think Flow would want to fix things if possible.”

“You’re forgetting that even if we get to Tartarus, there’s no way we can get someone like that out. You know, on the off chance that everything you’re saying is right.”

“I just want to talk to him first, to understand what really happened. No one knows the whole story. I need to know,” Three sighs, “It’s getting scary outside. Ponies are growing terrified and angry with each other. I can feel it. It hurts...”

“I’m with you,” is all Thirteen can say. After almost killing herself, things just feel different… priorities mostly. Everything is less pressing, as if what the world wanted from her wasn’t as relevant anymore. Her own choice, on the other hoof…

And she definitely can’t deny her curiosity about how they really got into this mess inthe first place.

“I’m with you,” she repeats, “Tartarus or anywhere else.”

“Thank you, Thirteen. Boss was the only one who understood when I told him how it felt but he was busy with making sure all dwarves can leave Brauheim, and for a good reason since miss Prominence said that princess Sunny wanted to burn the city to the gro- undergro- even further underground.”

As Thirteen thinks about what to say to that, her body makes the choice for her by yawning.

“I should let you sleep,” Three pats her head, “And I’ll tell everyone we’re almost ready to get out of here,” he adds through the hive link.

“Thank you for coming to see me,” she mutters, losing control with every passing second.

“Hey, I’d be here all the time, but the wardens said just this night. Now rest up and get better.”

Thirteen doesn’t even hear the end of that sentence.

On the evening of day two after that, and a thorough questioning about why she did what she did by the doctor and some wardens, the staff escort Thirteen back to her and Magpie’s cell.

When the door clicks behind her, Magpie looks down from his bunk and then withdraws his head when he realizes it’s not wardens wanting something from him.

“You okay?” is all he says.

“Mhm,” Thirteen nods. After a quick look around to see that the wardens have left, she adds, “Did they hurt mister minotaur after I passed out?”

“Not after the first round of tranquilizers and taser spells, no. He’s in the solitary now, though.”

“Aww,” Thirteen limps over to the bed and lies down, “I’ll have to apologize again- wait, no. That’s just saying sorry all over again.”

“Hmm?”

“I’m taking something you said to heart,” Thirteen buries her head to the small, flat pillow.

“I usually am right, but I shouldn’t be anyone’s role model, really,” Magpie rolls over.

“No no,” Thirteen can’t help smiling to herself for some reason, “Grouchy or not, that thing about not talking but doing- or acting in this case made sense.”

“Huh, I guess it’s true then that even a blind lumberjack sometimes hits a tree,” Magpie shrugs.

“And you were annoyed with me for putting myself down...”

“You and me, biiig difference in life experience, girl.”

“That’s something I was wondering about before but I was afraid you’d get mad if I asked.”

“And you’re not afraid now?”

“I… I do, but everything feels strange now. I almost killed myself, I thought I messed up really bad so I thought I deserved it, but when I woke up… everything was somehow okay-”

“And now you feel like you’ve got nothing to lose no matter what you do, right? So you may as well do whatever you want, if only out of spite at the world for surviving. I mean, after the momentary disappointment that you’re still here.”

“Exactly!” Thirteen’s eyes go wide, she turns around, and glares at the bottom of Magpie’s bunk, “How do you know?”

“Girl, I spent years in minotaur blood arena, tortured, raped, broken in ways I never thought were possible. I tried to kill myself more times than I can recall from those blurry days, but they never let me. Their shamans are surprisingly good at keeping someone alive if they want. It was their mistake in the end to keep me at the breaking point that you’ve just visited.”

“Was that what turned you into a loveless?”

“What?”

“A loveless, a creature without any love. Alive, but to a changeling you may as well be a moving rock. I recall catching few mentions of creatures like that in our hive mind, mostly because mom or someone had to stop them before they caused too much damage to ponies around them.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about but I’ve had my share of berserking in the arena, so I’m not about to go cracking friendly skulls any time soon.”

“It’s not that. Some were just psychopaths unable to understand emotions and that made them evil without them even knowing. Politicians, most of those. But some ended up in a mental institutions. They were just missing a crucial part of themselves. It makes me wonder if miss Gem has noticed it.”

“If you noticed whatever you think you’re noticing, then Gem definitely did.”

“True. You know what?”

“What?” grumbles the griffon.

“I hope miss Gem can help you get better.”

“Go to bed, girl. I’m Gem’s emergency ration, that’s all.”

“She can’t get love off of you...”

“Lust still works, doesn’t it? Because I sure could stare at that plot all day.”

“I suppose so...” Thirteen yawns, “Anyway, it’s nice knowing there’s someone who can relate to what’s going on with me.”

Magpie sighs.

“Look, girl. I don’t wish it on anyone who’s normal, but it happened, you did it, and you’re learning something new about yourself. Don’t run from the experience, use it.”

“So you really don’t like anyone?”

“Go to beeeeed...” growls Magpie, “Near-fatal wounds should make you tired, not chatty.”

“Just this last question, if you don’t mind.”

“I do mind, or am I being too subtle about it?”

Thirteen stands up, walks over to the cell door, and flips the light switch. It doesn’t do much, since there’s still light coming through the bars enough to brighten the whole cell to a reading level, but it’s better than the lightbulb in the ceiling.

Thirteen lies back down, and silence interrupted only by the muffled noises from other cells and the steps of patrolling wardens follows, at least until Magpie hisses:

“Okay, I can feel you staring. One last question, and if you don’t go to bed afterwards, I’ll knock you out myself.”

“Deal,” Thirteen smirks, “So do you like anyone?”

“No. Good night.”

“You have to take it seriously!”

“Fine! Romantically? No. Never have. Me and ‘like someone’ aren’t things that belong into the same sentence. Good night.”

“Not even miss Gem?”

“I work for Gem, Thirteen. End of story. She’s a hardcore pacifist, I told you, and I’m there to buy her time to prepare some potion that helps her escape from a tough situation. Her usual flirty attitude is a way she acts around everyone. I’ve always thought it was just practice,” he facetalons, “Let me guess, your near-death experience made you re-evaluate your priorities and now you think you like someone, am I right?”

“You act like you don’t care, but that was one hole of an accurate observation,” admits Thirteen,

“I am pretty good at predicting things that are going to annoy me. Do you intend to keep talking about it then or can I go to sleep without asking a warden to tranqulize me?”

“I… I think I like Three.”

“Dumb, happy, always positive. Good pick. Have him shapeshift into some muscular body and most mares would bash each other over the head to be with him and those who wouldn’t would want him as a trophy husband.”

“That’s a horrible way to think about a relationship.”

“Asking the wrong griffon here. Now, I did my best to comment on your newfound affection. Time to fulfill your part of the deal and go to sleep before I’m forced to choke you out with a pillow.“

“Always so grouchy.”

“Yeah, and that’s my best characteristic.”